MAY 2, 2013

Loss of F1 income hurts small teams

F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone announced recently that, from now on, only the top ten finishers in the constructors' world championship will share the sport's commercial income.

Previously, under a scheme devised by former FIA president Max Mosley, the three newest teams Caterham, Marussia and now-defunct HRT received $10 million per year irrespective of their results.

But Ecclestone told Reuters the new arrangement is "a bit more incentive" for Marussia to "get going and get into the top ten.

"It's a bit like the football where you can go up and down," he added.

Just prior to Ecclestone's announcement, Marussia technical chief Symonds said the Banbury-based team is not the only one "worried" about F1's financial situation.

He said Mosley's $10 million per year was "a significant part of our budget".

"And when you take away things like that, it really hurts," Symonds told Sky Sports.

But the situation for Marussia could be even more dire than that, with sporting director Graeme Lowdon hinting to the Press Association that Ecclestone is freezing the team out completely -- even if it does manage to finish in the top ten.

"We can confirm we've not had any offer from CVC at all. At no time have we had any proposal," he said.